Hi everyone. First time posting on the forums so I'm trying to mind my manners, etc. I am 5'9'' and currently 294 pounds (lost six in about a week.) 44 BMI. When I hit that 300 mark I... I couldn't help but cry. It was such a terrible moment in my life. I couldn't believe what was happening. My boyfriend has always loved me for me and even ENJOYS me being overweight. He was definitely an enabler but at the same time, he would scold me if he thought I was eating wrong, so it started to hurt me after a while.
I've changed my lifestyle for the better, but I still feel discouraged.
I try to stay under 2000 calories a day.
Sometimes that changes to under 2400 calories a day.
I eat fruits, veggies, very little pasta, one cup of meat a day, oats and sometimes I may drink a 190 calorie slimfast chocolate shake.
I know I'm losing a lot of weight due to the fact that my calorie intake for being my height and weight to maintain weight is around 3000. But how am I losing a pound a day? Wouldn't I have to reduce my calories to almost nill to do that? I am sedentary, that's why I'm wondering (I have a severe chest condition and working out is terrible for me, so that's why I just switched to less calories.)

When you diet, you lose a lot of weight at first, usually because this is fluid. People call it 'water weight.' When you are seriously dieting, one important step is to involve your doctor. Then, you can easily ask, 'What can I expect?' and 'Is it normal to lose this much weight in a week?'

BTW, 2 pounds a week is not unusual weight loss when sticking to the Weight Watchers program. At the beginning, people tend to lose more in a week. So, for your size, maybe it's normal, but YOUR doctor could tell you. Weight loss levels off as time goes on.

Here at fitday, you can see how many calories you're eating just by looking at the numbers for the foods you faithfully log, measuring them and being scrupulous about tracking food. What's important to see is: how many calories were you eating before? Then compare, to gauge the effect in the beginning.

Drinking a Slimfast shake is not going to help with weight loss, unless you perhaps substitute it for a meal. I know someone who lost 100 pounds doing that twice a day and eating just one normal meal. She also had a treadmill in her house and walked/ran every day for at least an hour. She gave it all the effort necessary and she did lose the weight. And then - this is hard to believe, but true - she gained it all back.

Which makes me ask: is your boyfriend guiding you in your thoughts about weight loss? Is he going to give you his opinion along the way, affecting your efforts? If he says, OK, now you've lost enough, I liked you more when you were fat, is it going to make a difference?

What I suspect in my friend's case is that she put herself in a totally different emotional state when she got to her goal weight. Her 'partner' was supportive all the way but didn't seem to care whether she lost weight or not. When she lost weight and truly looked like she did many years ago when she was dating, she also looked more sexually attractive and the option of attracting other people and dating again was real once again. My opinion, which I will never know is correct or not, is that it threw her relationship dynamic for a loop - whether her partner ever said anything at all about it. Which just highlights the importance of motivation - what is the reason for losing the weight, and how strong is that reason? What other things can throw you off course, or make you gain weight back?